Outside Tohjo Falls: Afternoon
"So, this is Tohjo Falls?" Ash questioned as they stood next to the entrance.
It was now the afternoon of the next day. After getting back to his friends yesterday, Ash had informed them about seeing Ho-oh, showed off the rainbow wing, and spoke of his brief conversation with Blue. Not that they'd doubt Ash, but the evidence made it concrete.
This added another side objective to their time in Johto being for at least Ash to check on this tower legend whenever they happened upon Ecruteak City. After that, things were relatively peaceful with a good dinner and restful night. Come morning, the group had a quick breakfast.
Then, it was time to move on once again. The closer they got to Tohjo Falls, the weirder it was to think they'd been this close to Johto all that time in Kanto. According to the new guide book James had acquired, Tohjo Falls is a big landmark.
It was all due to the massive waterfall inside the cave, but it is hard to say which region it belonged to. The border between the two is somewhere within, but both had been arguing exactly where said border fell.
"What are we waiting for?" Serena asked. "This is meant to be the most beautiful water filled landmark near Kanto."
On that note, the group took their first steps into the cave. Unlike previous caves the group has been in, Tohjo Falls is naturally lit from crystals which formed in the walls. They reflect light from the sun and onto the body of water lighting the whole place up. It was a breathtaking sight.
"According to the book, it would take about three hours to swim across the water." James informed. "Given we don't have any of our stronger water types on us, we'd be better served walking around the edge."
"Sounds like a plan, but we should still let Wimpod and Spheal out to enjoy the water while we got it." Ash reasoned. "They can get a good swim in if they stay close."
James nodded. "Sounds good to me."
So, James and Ash let their respective water types out before telling both they must stay near the two of them as they traversed the cave. Both understood, so the whole group began their trek through the cave. Unlike other caves they have been through, no Zubat or Golbat lived here.
That was likely due to all the light, but the water was still filled with different water pokemon like: Magikarp, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Staryu, Goldeen, and Horsea. That was only what the trio could see from where they were. No doubt more lived under the water.
As they continued through the landmark, they passed behind the massive waterfall along a relatively dry path. There was an offshoot at about the halfway point. Here, Pikachu smelt something on the air. Something he could only smell now that they were close to it.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"What's up Pikachu?" Upon Ash asking that, the electric type lept down from his shoulder and ran into the offshoot prompting the trio to follow. "Pikachu!?"
The further in the group went, the more rubble they saw before ultimately ending up within a room. It contained shattered remnants of larger rocks and various crystals which had adorned this space. As they stared at this room, none of them noticed a Teddiursa staying within the shadows of a tunnel opposite the one they entered.
"What happened here?" James asked.
Suddenly, Ash glowed blue, to the shock of everyone, before it expanded to cover the entire room. What seemed to be some sort of video started playing around them.
A whole mess of pokemon consisting of: Rattata, Raticate, and Slowpoke rushed into the room. They were soon followed by a Teddiursa and Ursaring. The evolved normal type went about moving large rocks in front of the entrance as quickly as possible.
Not even a moment later, something was attempting to break through, and there were muffled, frustrated voices. All the unevolved pokemon were terrified while the Raticate attempted to calm them. The Teddiursa looked on at the Ursaring who seemed rather conflicted about something.
She made up her mind before looking back at all the pokemon. "Ursa! Ursaring!"
Her declaration shocked many of them, but the Teddiursa stepped forward clearly in denial over what had been said. The Ursaring wasn't hearing it as she was quick to move the unevolved normal type over to the crowd.
"Ursaring!"
The Raticate were the ones to act as they swarmed Teddiursa. The unevolved normal type attempted to fight back, but the horde managed to push her towards the opposite exit. While that didn't prompt the other unevolved pokemon to follow, the cracking boulders did.
All the pokemon, weather willing or not, were funneling out the opposite exit. As they left, The Ursaring turned to face the rapidly cracking boulders. Just as the last of the pokemon got out, the boulders were broken inward allowing whatever was chasing them in.
It was various pokemon consisting of: Spinarak, Odish, Murkrow, Ratata, Ekans, Sandshrew, Machop, Grimer, Zubat, and Gastly. They were followed by people wearing black uniforms with the red R symbol. Seeing that again stunned the trio since they thought Team Rocket was gone.
The group didn't get much time to focus on this revelation as Ursaring charged at the incoming pokemon taking the fight to them. While she was putting up one heck of a fight, the large number of smaller pokemon lent itself well to landing various, barrage like attacks.
Still, the normal type fought tooth and nail managing to take down every other pokemon. While Team Rocket couldn't see it, the trio did. Ursaring was now exhausted, but she played it off roaring at the grunts who all backed away in fear. In truth, she couldn't move another inch.
The moment the last of their pokemon fainted was the moment she'd expended practically everything. What remaining energy Ursaring had was being used on sheer intimidation hoping they'd run. It seemed like it'd almost work until a pokeball soared out of the entrance.
It nailed the normal type sucking Ursaring in. Given her current state, the pokeball dinged before it ever hit the ground. The normal type was simply too weak to fight this. The one who threw the pokeball was none other than Ariana who walked in.
This ended the aura, but it told the trio that was the actual Team Rocket. Whatever happened the day their prison had been exploaded hadn't led to their death. Ash now fell to his knees as his aura faded. He was tired yet angry by what he saw. Serena walked over and embraced him.
"Team Rocket is back." James was no less pleased by what they saw.
"We should let someone know." Ash grunted as he took to his feet with Serena's help.
"Please, be careful Ash." Serena pleaded.
Ash shot her a grateful and reassuring smile.
"Who do we go to?" James questioned. "Despite fighting them prior, the police aren't likely to believe a bunch of kids, and they would want to know where we got this information. If we mention it was from Ash's aura, they will likely think we're crazy."
"Wes would be our best bet, but there's likely not much he could do here." Serena reasoned. "If I were to bet, I'd say this is as close to Kanto as Team Rocket is willing to get right now. It's more likely they've moved operations to Johto. At that rate, Blake might be our best bet."
"Since we want to inform him as soon as possible, I'll contact my dad." Ash pulled out the aura pendant he was given.
"Before you do, let's at least get out of the cave and set up camp before nightfall." James reasoned. "The trek out will also give us all time to wrap out heads around this."
Seeing this as the logical next step, the group left. With what they learned, the happy and peaceful atmosphere was gone. It also distracted them to the point they weren't paying attention to the Teddiursa tailing them. She'd initially thought they were more of those people.
Then, they reacted the way they did. This led to Teddiursa wanting to join them. Specifically, that boy who showed her what happened. She would work hard to grow stronger and hopefully join them in stopping these other humans. Perhaps they could even learn what became of her mother.
Johto Side of Tohjo Falls
The group soon made it out of Tohjo Falls and went about a mile away before deciding to set up camp. Serena and James took over Ash's duties as he walked away to call his father using that pendant. According to him, all he had to do was grab it and call out to him.
"Dad, I need to talk with you." Ash stated.
"Ash, I'm here." The pendant glowed as Red's voice came out of it. "What do you need?"
"My friends and I decided to journey through Johto." Ash started simply. "We were just in Tohjo Falls where we discovered something. Pikachu led us to an offshoot which opened into a battle torn part of the cave. Upon entering, my aura activated."
"Did it play some sort of video made out of aura?" Red asked. "Almost like a hologram?"
Ash sighed. "Yeah…"
"That is nothing to worry about." Red assured. "It just means it sensed something that happened there previously. It would have reacted to something within you and played the visual as its way of processing that. Was it something important?"
"You could say that." Ash mumbled. "It showed us a vision of Team Rocket hunting pokemon which were all desperate to get away. It ultimately ended with an Ursaring giving everything she had to ensure the safety of the rest. After she collapsed, Ariana showed up catching her."
"Her being their means it's the true Team Rocket." Even though Ash didn't catch it, there was no surprise evident in Red's voice. "I'm sorry you had to come upon such a sight, but I've figured you're telling me this since I'm your fastest way to get word to Blake."
"Yeah, could you?" Ash asked.
"Of course." Red responded without hesitation. "I'll do it right now, so you should focus on your present journey. Before I go, you're my son and were already wrapped up in Team Rocket's affairs before. I know you'll likely end up in them again, so stay safe, okay?"
"I will dad." Ash answered.
"Good." Red stated. "Love you, son."
"I love you to." Ash replied.
Their connection ended leaving the Pallet native sighing. Pikachu noticed this and patted his trainer's shoulder getting a smile out of him.
"Don't worry, I'll be alright buddy." Ash smiled. "Even with Team Rocket very likely here in Johto, they aren't going to dictate our journey." He nodded. "We'll do just as we did in Kanto. Journey around this region and take them down whenever we happen across them."
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
Ash walked the few feet back to camp as a certain normal type now ran after him from behind a tree not that far away. Just as Ash was about to speak with the rest of the trio, they noticed the normal type. Before they could bring it up, the little bear pokemon spoke up.
"Teddi!"
"Pika?" Pikachu lept off Ash's shoulder and stood before the pokemon. "Pika. Pikachu. Pika. Pika. Pikachu."
"Teddi. Teddiursa. Teddi."
"A Teddiursa." Serena noted. "Do you think he might be the one from what we were shown?"
"It does seem a little to coincidental." James noted.
Once Pikachu was done speaking with the normal type, he went back to stand before Ash to explain. "Pikachu. Pika. Pika. Pika. Chu. Chu. Pika. Pikachu."
"She is that Teddiursa we saw and came to check on her mother only to see what my aura showed." Ash recited for the others. "With how we reacted, she decided we weren't Team Rocket. Given how I specifically acted, she wants to join me in hopes of getting stronger, stopping those people, and finding her mother."
"Well, she's a brave little girl." James noted.
Ash walked past Pikachu and knelt on one knee before Teddiursa with a smile. "If you really do join me, I'll do my best to help you make everything happen. In fact, my dream is to be a Pokemon Master so growing stronger is the least challenging thing you could ask of those."
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa declared happily.
As Ash took out his pokeball, the little bear pokemon suddenly realized something and backed away to the surprise of the group.
"I thought Teddiursa wanted to join Ash." Serena commented.
The normal type put on a fierce face, attempting to mimic her mother, and got into a battle stance.
James knew what this was. "She does but only if Ash battles her."
"Ah, you want to get started on your goal right away." Ash stood and stepped back. "Alright, I've been meaning to try one of my new pokemon out in a battle anyways, so I'll accept that challenge."
At that proclamation, Pikachu knew Ash was going to use Wimpod, so he simply scurried up to his place on the shoulder.
"I choose you, Wimpod!" Ash declared as he threw out his pokemon.
In a flash of light, the turn tail pokemon appeared before Teddiursa. He understood this was a battle which would now let him see how battling with his new trainer felt. While that was an understood part of trainer and pokemon to Wimpod, he was still interested at this first time.
Ash vs Teddiursa
"Wimpod, use aqua jet." Ash ordered.
Wimpod was cloaked in water and slammed into Teddiursa knocking her back. The normal type recovered as her claws radiated normal type energy. She charged in aiming to land scratch.
"Wimpod, use screech while bracing yourself." Ash instructed.
Wimpod screeched at Teddiursa who didn't like the sound, as her defenses were lowered two stages, but she fought through it. The normal type made it to the turn tail pokemon striking him with the normal type attack, but he managed to take it.
"Now, strike with metal claw." Ash commanded.
Wimpod's small claws sheened with metal energy while Teddiursa followed suit, and they ended up clashing. Due to the little bear's reduced defense, the turn tail pokemon effortlessly overcame her landing the blow which sent the normal type tumbling along the ground.
Ash saw this as his chance. He took out a pokeball and threw it at the little bear pokemon which made contact before sucking her inside. The ball shook back and forth for a bit before ultimately stopping as it dinged. Ash was successful in catching his first Johto pokemon.
The Pallet native grinned widely before rushing over and snatching up the pokeball. "I just caught, Teddiursa!"
"Pika!" Pikachu celebrated with his trainer.
Wimpod just looked at his trainer as he wasn't really the type to celebrate like that, but he didn't mind them doing it.
"Wimpod, you were great out there." Ash praised his bug/water type.
Hearing those words did register as good, so Wimpod gave a resolute nod. He didn't recognize it, but there was a small smile which Ash happily registered due to his experiences with Scizor.
"Congratulations Ash." Serena stated as she and James approached.
"Yeah, I think you and that Teddiursa will do great together." The breeder added.
"Thanks guys." Ash declared happily. "Now, it's time to check her out."
The Pallet native got out his pokedex:
Teddiursa, the Little Bear Pokémon. If it finds honey, its crescent mark glows. It always licks its paws because they are soaked with honey.
Type: Normal
Ability: Quick Feet
Sex: Male
Current Moves: Scratch, Fury Cutter, Metal Claw
Despite what may await them on this journey, the trio wouldn't let it get them down for long. They faced the darkness within Kanto and helped dissipate it. If Johto was the same, they'd merely do it again. At this point, it's simply who they've become. A good first step was getting back to some camping.
Morning…
With the morning came everyone sending out their pokemon to enjoy it as the group was back in the full swing of things after yesterday's revelation. James began dolling out the pokemon food which newcomers like Wimpod and Teddiursa certainly enjoyed alongside the rest.
Serena was busy cooking a large breakfast with Ash helping as he had a marginal desire to learn something about cooking. He wasn't going to study it as hard as Serena had, but he figured learning a few simply things could never hurt.
As they ate, Teddiursa was fitting in with the others about as well as any pokemon eventually did. She seemed to have a bit of an affinity for Ash's two pokemon over the remaining six, but that usually seemed to be the case unless the pokemon was more outgoing.
Spheal, for instance, was quite the outgoing pokemon from the moment James caught him. He had immediately attempted to make friends with all the trio's pokemon. To contrast this was Wimpod who acted cordially with everyone.
He simply wasn't the type to go out of his way to make friends. That was more than fine given this motley crew had experiences with a wide range of personalities from the various pokemon the trio had caught prior. All this is to say, Teddiursa was among a good crowd.
Eventually, their morning ended, and everything being packed up cinched that it was time to continue. All other pokemon, aside from Pikachu and Togepi, were safe in their pokeballs. Now, they were back on the road to New Bark Town.
Outskirts of New Bark Town: Days Later, Morning…
The group had been making good time, even as they kept up their training, and were quickly setting upon New Bark Town. Suddenly, something seemed to catch the attention of Togepi and Pikachu. Both got away from their respective trainers to wonder of.
"Togepi!/Pikachu!" James/Ash yelled.
James ran first with Ash quick to follow and Serena pulling up the rear as they ran after the two pokemon. Upon arriving with their pokemon, who were stunned, the trainers followed suit. Standing there atop a tall, flat rock was an Entei.
"It's magnificent." Serena commented.
Both Pallet natives got out their pokedexs:
Entei, the Volcano Pokemon. Entei embodies the passion of magma. It is said that one is born every time a new volcano appears.
The pokemon turned its head making direct eye contact with James who understood in that moment they would meet again one day. What that meeting would entail, those eyes did not say, but the volcano pokemon soon broke eye contact before leaping down and running away.
"Says here in the pokedex that Entei is also a legendary pokemon." Serena voiced.
"Whoa, two legendaries in less than a week." Ash smiled. "I think that's a good sign of things to come."
"Yeah." James nodded as he smiled in acceptance that one day, he would see Entei again. "Come on, New Bark Town shouldn't be far now."
James was right as the trio now stood on a hill overlooking New Bark Town, where the winds of new beginnings blow. It looks a lot like Pallet in all honesty but that doesn't really matter.
"Ah, New Bark Town." Ash sighed in relief as he took a deep breath. "We finally made it.".
"Our first location in the Johto region." Serena smiled.
"According to the guide book, this town has no pokemon center, but it is home to one of Professor Oak's older students, Professor Elm." James informed. "He happens to be this region's main professor as well."
"All the regional professors are happy for visitors, according to Professor Oak himself." Serena reasoned. "Hopefully all that means he'd be alright putting up with us for a bit. At least long enough to get a rest in."
"What are we waiting for?" Ash asked rhetorically. "Let's go to Professor Elm's lab!"
With excitement and enthusiasm evident, Ash shot down the path to town. Serena giggled at her boyfriend and ran after him. James smiled as he chased after the younger trainers.
The trio's on hand pokemon-
Ash's Pokemon
1. Pikachu
2. Wimpod
3. Teddiursa
Serena's Pokemon
1. Sylveon
2. Rhyhorn *Pink
3. Caterpie *Pink
James' Pokemon
1. Croagunk
2. Togepi
3. Spheal
Nightshadegirl: That version of Silver didn't want to simply discard his name, but he came to loathe as it was leaving him no other choice than to rearrange it. As for Wimpod, I actually did a number randomizer utilizing the Galar pokedex, and Wimpod is what it game me.